


It's Our Hearts That Make the Beat

by squishfics



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: AU, Band, High School AU, Lots of it, M/M, Slow Burn, There's cursing, and too many innuendos and meme/vine refs, band and choir have a weird rivalry, bandkid!josh, brendon and patrick are also choir kids, brendon and tyler are bffs, choir, choirkid!tyler, cursing, i add too many pointless details i'm v sorry, idk TAGS, josh is the new kid at school, newkid!josh, pete does both, the first few chapters are little slice of life ones, to establish the friendships and all ya feel, tyler really loves cheezits, tyler's mom is kind of absent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-05 03:46:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14608596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squishfics/pseuds/squishfics
Summary: He froze and so did the rest of his friends.The first thought that ran through Tyler’s mind as he gazed at him was that he wasn’t what he’d been expecting. Brendon had made him out to be some huge rebel-y bad boy. He did have a sort of bad boy look, but it was obvious looking at him that he was a softie. His eyes were wide, deep pools of brown reflecting those first day jitters new kids so often got. His hair was, if he was being honest, a bit of a mess. It was dyed a bright red and looked as if the kid had walked through a wind storm or something to get there. Despite the messiness, though, it looked like it’d be kinda nice to run your fingers through. He had a small ring pierced through his nose and his clothing was pretty similar to Tyler’s. Maybe take away the lumberjack part of his aesthetic and replace it with bad boy. Yeah, it was definitely bad boy-emo chic. Over all, he was just…cute.His second thought was that he’d never hated anyone as much as he hated Joshua Dun in that moment.The table was completely silent for a long few moments before someone spoke up.“Oh my fuckin’ god, he fuckin’ dead.” Brendon stage-whispered to no one in particular.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay...so.....this is my first time actually posting a chaptered work of mine and I'm sort of trying a new style of writing for myself? I'm not really sure how much I like it, BUT maybe someone here enjoys fics where unimportant things are given way too much detail. Is this the roast yourself challenge? I should stop.
> 
> ANYWAY, I'm really excited because even though I don't have much confidence in my writing, the stuff that I have planned for this fic are really cute. Plus, who doesn't love a good, long slow burn?
> 
> I haven't proof read this (oops) and I don't have a beta, so my apologies for any spelling/grammar mistakes that may come up. I just want to get this up and see if anyone is interested so I can continue! Thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoy.

Mornings, admittedly, were not Tyler’s favorite things in the world. You’d think all these years of school would let him adjust to getting up so early, but nope. He still wanted to sink into his mattress and disappear every time he heard his alarm start to go off. This morning was no exception.

Not bothering to open his eyes, he groped a hand out blindly towards his nightstand, searching for the offending noise. As he finally grasped it, he cracked bleary brown eyes open and squinted, swiping the alarm away with a groan. Ugh. He needed to remember to change that damn alarm tone. Of all the preselected choices his phone had to offer, why was the default set to the most irritating, high pitched ringing he’d ever heard? Why couldn’t they be _considerate_ and make a nice soft song slowly get louder to nudge you awake? He chose to ignore the fact that it was partly his fault for not changing the tone himself.

With a sigh, Tyler heaved himself out of bed, phone still tightly gripped in one hand.  He stumbled his way tiredly to the bathroom, his feet feeling like lead and his vision still blurred with sleep as he squinted at his phone. That didn’t last long, however, as they were soon widening in surprise at the display on his lockscreen. 54 messages, what the fuck. He wasn’t popular in school really, being a part of the music nerd clique in a pretty sports-centric school and all, so usually even more than 5 notifications in the morning was weird. 54 was…insane.

His brain instantly jumped to all the worst places: school burned down, one of his friends died, a teacher at their school was arrested, the school food was found to have cancer-causing ingredients in them. But before he could let himself get too panicked, he decided to actually check what all this was about.

…He was going to kill Brendon.

 ** _54 new messages from_** **Basically Satan**

_tyler_

_ty_

_joseph_

_are you awake_

_dude you’re never gonna believe_

_i mean you might, but_

_listen_

_i have the tea_

_it’s fresh and it’s hot and it wants to be inside of you_

_your mouth pervert_

_and your stomach probably_

_how are you sleeping through all these notifs_

_wak e the FICK UP_

_duck_

_FUC K_

_i wanna share the gossip_

_come on ugh_

_  
_ The messages went on and on, mostly just Brendon spamming the shit out of Tyler to try to wake him up. The boy rolled his eyes, but he was only slightly annoyed. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his messy hair. He didn’t want to wait longer to reply, no use in giving Brendon reason to start up the spam again. So he gripped his phone in both hands, thumbs tapping over the screen quickly to reply.

_jfc, brendon. what are you freaking out about now?_

He set his phone on the counter as he snatched up a brush, taming the bird’s nest on his head. He really needed to get a haircut soon, this was the longest he’d ever let it get.

Brendon was a fast texter, so Tyler wasn’t surprised to hear his phone vibrate against the counter top only mere moments after he’d sent his own text. He chose to ignore it, though, in favor of getting ready.

Only after his mouth was minty and his pits musky (because apparently musk was an appealing scent for men’s deodorant) did Tyler finally click his home button to bring up his messages.

_oh tyler tyker tyler_

_you don’t sound excited for my juicy gossip how disappointong_

_i’m gonna tell you anyway._

_patrick told gerard who told me that pete is the ambassador for some new kid at our school_

_and apparently he’s like smoking hot_

Of course. Why was Tyler not surprised by the direction of their conversation? He let out a little huff of amusement through his nose as he moved out of the bathroom and into the short hallway to trek back to his room.

_54 messages….to tell me that we have a cute new student at school?_

His attention turned to his task at hand. Right, getting ready for school. Damn millennials and their phones, always getting distracted.

Determinedly, he shuffled into his bedroom and tossed his phone onto his messy, unmade bed. No more distractions. He was going to be late if he kept this up. See, he really loved his sleep, so he gave himself the minimum amount of time to get ready in the mornings in order to maximize his sleep time. A smart move for someone with better time management than him, but he’d ended up with a long record of missing buses and twenty minute long walks to school. He didn’t want today to be one of those days. He hated walking into class late, he always had to grab a late pass on the way and it always felt like everyone was staring at him. Probably because they were. Nosy little shits.

Tyler began sifting through the clothes in his drawers before pulling out a pair of snug fitting, black jeans. They were obviously old, the color faded to be that weird off-black aged clothing often turned, and it was littered in small imperfections like the stain on the left ankle or the holes in both knees. Yeah, they weren’t an aesthetic choice like most kids’ jeans those days. Tyler had bought them fully intact, his clumsy ass had just tripped and fallen one too many times in these things. They were his favorite, though, and he couldn’t really afford new ones at the moment. Next came a red and black flannel. Pete liked to tell him he looked like a cross between a twinky lumberjack and a sad emo when he wore this outfit, but maybe that was what he was going for. It was an accurate enough description of Tyler as a whole, anyways, he thought.

Once he was dressed, his converse adding to the sad emo part of his fashion statement, he tugged on a plain black book bag and finally allowed himself to grab his phone again. 4 new texts. Why couldn’t Brendon just say all he wanted in one text?

_tyler...sweetie…_

_we haven’t had a new student for like 2 years_

_it’s a big deal_

_and i said he was SMOKING HOT, not cute. he’s a delicious meat sack, not a puppy_

Tyler barked out a surprised laugh at the text. _ew, bren, wtf. that is the grossest thing you’ve ever said about a guy. …actually, saying you wanted to taste someone’s pickle is, but still._

He rolled his eyes, taking the stairs two at a time to head into the kitchen. Some kids woke in the morning to fresh eggs and bacon or pancakes or even a fucking Poptart toasted for them, but not Tyler. No. His mom was always too busy for him. She couldn’t even be bothered to see him out for school most days. He’d long since come to expect it, but that didn’t mean it felt good to grab the last apple out of a fruit bowl on the counter on his way to the door.

His good mood now slightly dampened, he headed out the front door to make his way to the bus stop. By some miracle, he managed to make it just as the bus was about to pull away. He quickened his steps to hop onto the bus, immediately turning to slide into the very first seat. For whatever reason, high school students tended to flock to the back, as if it were somehow cooler to sit further back on the bus. Tyler never quite understood the appeal, all he could think about was how it’d be a really sucky place to be sitting if the bus was back-ended.

Lucky for him, the bus ride to school wasn’t very long. Three and a half songs worth, to be exact. Troye Sivan’s angelic voice was still ringing in his ears as he climbed off of the bus, helping to fight the funk his own thoughts had already put him in that morning.

His headphones warded off anyone from talking to him on his way into the school, which he was extremely grateful for because he was pretty sure he’d stepped on some guy’s heel and teenage boys were fucking _crazy_ about their shoes. After that, Tyler did his best to avoid walking too close to anyone. A hard feat considering all the slow walkers around. He finally broke away from the crowd as he reached the beginning of the hallway and, therefore, the lobby’s exit. Technically, no one was allowed to leave the lobby until the bell rang. Then, they could all head to class. But a lot of the music kids flocked to the music hallway before then since the teachers there couldn’t care less. Plus, it was MUCH less crowded, a big plus for Tyler.

When he arrived, Brendon was already there waiting for him, leaned against a wall of lockers and grinning maniacally at his phone.

“You know, you could be a Disney villain with a smile like that, Bren.” Tyler greeted playfully, a smile of his own lighting up his face. Brendon’s happiness was always infectious. He’d even told him that once, to which Brendon had told him he’d gladly infect Tyler any time. That was Brendon for you.

The boy in question turned his head so quickly, Tyler was surprised he didn’t get whiplash. Brendon’s grin didn’t falter, even after obviously being startled by the sudden voice.

“You think so? I always thought it’d be cool to be Hades in a live action movie. I’d be…hot as hell.” He was clearly very proud of the overused joke, judging by the way his grin died down into a cocky smirk instead. But Tyler, used to his friend’s antics, was far from impressed.

“Oh my god…I’m leaving.”

“Shut up. You love me.” Brendon shrugged carelessly as he spoke. He nudged the shorter boy’s shoulder lightly before his eyebrows were suddenly furrowing together, an annoyed huff finding its way past his lips. “Hey, wait, no. I’m mad at you, go ahead and leave.”

Tyler knew already what the fake fit was over. Brendon did not like to be ignored, especially over text, and he hadn’t checked his messages since leaving his house. So it was no surprise to him that the he was being a diva over it. What a brat.

With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and levelled Brendon with an exasperated look. “Will you forgive me if I let you gossip about the new guy?”

That did the trick. Any trace of surliness vanished in an instant, leaving only excitement and eager eyes in its place.

“Ty, yes! Ugh, okay. As I told you earlier, he’s a steaming hot sack of meat.” A groan sounded from Tyler in annoyance, but it didn’t stop Brendon. “But, like…apparently he’s a bit rotten, if you know what I mean.”

“I— No, I don’t please for the love of all things holy, stop with the meat metaphors before you turn me vegetarian.”

“Whatever! I mean…he’s kind of a bad boy. I heard he got kicked out of his last school for fighting and that his family actually moved here because his reputation was, like, so bad in their old town. They wanted to give him a fresh start.” Brendon said. It was obvious that he _thrived_ on the gossip. His facial expression was constantly changing as he spoke and his words came out faster than normal in his haste to get it all out.

As it was getting closer to the bell for first period, the music hall began to steadily fill, students of various grades flocked together in their little friendship groups. Some talked and laughed obnoxiously while others were more subdued, nibbling on the free school breakfast offered at the auditorium entrance. It made Tyler a bit uncomfortable to be gossiping— no, scratch that— to be listening to Brendon gossip when there were so many ears around to eavesdrop. But he did initiate it, there was no stopping it now.

“Um, isn’t…today going to be his first day? How do you suppose people already know all this stuff?” Tyler questioned doubtfully. He didn’t want to rain on Brendon’s parade, but he also didn’t want this poor new guy to start off with a bad reputation in school over stupid made-up rumors. Especially if it was his best friend who spread them. He bit lightly at his lower lip, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he adjusted his book bag straps. A quick flick of his eyes around the hall showed no one _seemed_ to be listening at least, putting his nerves a bit more at ease.

It was Brendon’s turn to roll his eyes, disheartened by Tyler’s logical reasoning. Brendon did care more about entertainment than fact at times, this must have been one of those times. His friend turned to face him head on, leaning a shoulder up against the cool metal of the lockers. He was sighing even as he began to speak.

“I don’t know, Sherlock. I’m just telling you what I heard. Wouldn’t it be cool if it was true, though? Having a badass punk in our school? In our _friend group_?” That wicked grin was back, eyebrows waggling at the enticing thought. “And not just a wanna-be punk like Pete!”

Tyler scrunched his nose up slightly at the words, gaze dropping to his scruffy converse. He studied them carefully, as if he didn’t spend his whole time in the school halls staring down at them already, and he shrugged. “I dunno…I kind of like our friend group as it is.” He admitted. And he hated how his voice came out, all soft and hesitant, exposing exactly how he was feeling about the whole subject.

 _Your abandonment issues are showing, sweetheart._ His brain butted in sarcastically, making him grimace slightly. They really were. Logically, he knew his friends loved him and someone new joining the group officially wouldn’t change that, but the possibility was there. The possibility terrified him. God, how pathetic he was for sitting here worrying over someone he hadn’t even met yet.

Brendon’s forehead was wrinkled up from Tyler’s voice. His best friend could recognize when something was upsetting him, but he was saved from having to have a talk about his insecurities by the sudden ringing of the bell. Maybe ringing was a bad word…Deep, obnoxious buzzing was more accurate.

“Um, I gotta get to class. See you at lunch, dude.” Tyler murmured quickly. He wasn’t going to give Brendon a chance to make him actually _talk_ about his issues. “And I’ll fill your bed with bees if you steal my end seat again.” He tacked on the playful threat as an afterthought to try to give Brendon some semblance of reassurance that he was okay. 

“That’s fine, I’m into it! Ever seen Bee Movie!?” Brendon called after him. Tyler scrunched his nose up again, already several paces away from his friend. Disgusting. Brendon was absolutely disgusting. He loved it. He loved _him_. Brendon was basically his go-to man for…well, everything. His very best friend. He had been since the day they’d actually started talking to each other.

 

_Tyler had moved to town during ninth grade, after his parents’ divorce. At the time, he’d been ridiculously timid. He had no friends, even a month after starting at his new school. He knew a few names here and there, but that was about it. He went to classes, kept his head down in the hallways, and stayed quiet. For lunch, he ate in his choir classroom. The teacher, Mr. Halliwell, was one of those teachers that treated his students more like his kids than just pupils. He genuinely cared and that made class with him even better. So when Tyler had shyly approached the man on the first day of school, after freaking out internally at the sight of the full cafeteria, he’d happily let the boy eat in his room. Even on days when Mr. Halliwell wasn’t in the room for the lunch period, he let Tyler sit in there. An added bonus was that he got to play the piano if he finished eating before the bell rang._

_It was there that Tyler had his first ever substantial conversation with one Brendon Urie. The singer had been lounging back in a wooden chair, feet propped up on a second one as he slowly ate his way through a ham and cheese sandwich. He remembered it being kind of gross, the bread smushed and the mayonnaise gone warm from being in his bag all day. He was mid-bite when the loudmouth waltzed through the door, calling out for Mr. Halliwell._

_“Um…He’s not here.” Tyler had spoken up hesitantly after only a short pause, his voice sounding meek and small even to his own ears. He immediately regretted his decision when Loudmouth’s head whipped around to stare at him with big dark eyes. He almost wanted to flinch back instinctively. A little sad, really, that he was so shy. Instead, he took in a slow breath through his nose and forced a small smile at the stranger._

_“Holy shit, dude. I didn’t even see you in here. Scared the fuck outta me.” He laughed, the serious expression on his face breaking. His laugh, Tyler noted, was just as loud as his speaking voice. But it was kind of endearing, actually. He could imagine that it was pretty contagious in the right situation._

_“I— Um, sorry, I just—.” A frustrated huff left his lips as he struggled to form a coherent sentence. Socializing, Tyler. It’s not that hard. “Yeah, anyway, Mr. Halliwell left for this lunch period.” He finally spoke lamely, giving a tiny shrug. He set his sad excuse of a sandwich down, staring at it forlornly since that was easier than human eye contact._

_He didn’t look when he heard the kid stomping up the riser-like levels of floor their music room had. They were like steps, but very long. Long enough for a nice row of chairs to be lined up on each of the three. It was very convenient when it came to planning the layout of concerts and who would be standing where because it was nearly identical to the stage formation they usually had._

_“Oh. Whatever, I’ll just wait for him.” That was when Tyler noticed the packet in his hands and realized why he was there. Missing work. Yeah, Mr. Halliwell was a nice teacher, but he was very strict about work getting turned in. Even if it was late. “Hey, you’re in my class! You sit behind me in the tenor section, yeah? Um…T, T…Tyler! Right?” Loudmouth was beaming proudly, he noted when he eventually let his gaze flick up. That just made him feel bad for not remembering his name. Still, he nodded sheepishly. His smile grew just a bit more genuine than before, secretly as pleased as he was surprised to have been noticed._

_“Tyler, yeah. And— you sit in front of me. Uhh…” He trailed off slowly, feeling his cheeks flush pink in embarrassment. For some reason, the other took mercy on him._

_“Brendon. Urie! Remember it, kid, you’ll be hearing it on TV someday.” He joked, throwing his hand out in a dramatic gesture before his gaze was refocusing on Tyler’s._

_“Brendon Urie, got it. Can’t wait to see you on America’s Most Wanted.”_

_The other boy’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at Tyler’s words, clearly not having expected him to be capable of actual_ humor _. A short bark of laughter left him right after. “Are you flirting with me, Tyler? America’s Most Wanted, wow, you flatter me too much.” He knew it was a show about criminals, but couldn’t resist making a quip about his charm._

_Tyler, despite himself, let out an amused laugh. However, before he had a chance to joke back, Brendon’s nose was wrinkling in disgust as he took in the sight of Tyler’s lunch. “Gross. Your fuckin’ sandwich looks like it was dropped into a puddle and stepped on, what the fuck? Take my Cheez-Its. If you ate that whole sandwich and died I’d be traumatized for life.” He scoffed out, turning to open up his bag (which he’d thrown carelessly onto the floor next to his chair by that point). Moments later, Tyler was smacked in the face by the familiar red packaging._

And just like that, a friendship was formed. They had spent the rest of the lunch period joking around with each other and discovering the many things they had in common. From then on, the two spent their lunch periods in the choir room together. Then lunches turned to mornings before the bell rang and after school hangouts at each other’s houses. Brendon made it a habit to bring in Cheez-Its at least once a week, specifically the white cheddar ones after he’d learned it was his friend’s favorite. In return, Tyler started to occasionally bring in a thermos of coffee in the morning for the loudmouth on the days where he got up early enough to actually brew it.

He snapped out of his reminiscing just in time, catching himself right before he was going to walk past his classroom. Mr. Trano raised an eyebrow and grinned at his pupil’s absent-mindedness.

“Not quite awake yet, Tyler?” He crossed his arms over his chest, stepping aside so the brunette could shuffle into the room. He flashed a sheepish smile up at his teacher.

“No, sir. And I doubt your class will help.” Anyone who didn’t know Mr. Trano would never dare to say such a thing, but he was a really laidback teacher and encouraged his students to joke around with him. For his efforts, Tyler earned a light scoff and a simple, “Take your seat.”

He obeyed, throwing himself down into one of the spinning chairs closest to the windows. He actually really enjoyed this class, Creative Writing, but he knew he had a reading report to do today which wasn’t very fun. So he settled in and prepared for a boring hour of analyzing someone else’s writing.

His first two classes passed by relatively uneventfully. On his way to Software and Computer Applications class, he saw some kid trying to climb on top of a vending machine by the stairs, but that was about it. Before he knew it, he was in the cafeteria. A while ago, his friends had convinced him to eat in there with them sometimes. It worked out well, as Mr. Halliwell didn’t like to have his classroom crowded during lunch every day. When it was just Tyler, it was no big deal, but Tyler had accumulated three whole friends since those days and when they were all together, things could get a bit wild.

He didn’t bother to hop into line, knowing perfectly well Brendon would grab him something. He hated the lunch lines, all those kids pushing and shoving. Plus, the lunch ladies were always grumpy for some reason.

“Hey, there’s my favorite emo lumberjack!” He heard from behind him suddenly, just before Patrick was sliding into his seat beside Tyler and setting his lunch down on the table. His lips quirked, brightening up in his presence.

“Awh, that’s me! What a pair we are, hmm? An emo lumberjack and a hipster Hobbit.” In return, he received a well-placed elbow to the ribs. A little ‘oof’ escaped him as he wiggled to the side to put some distance between them. Patrick was like some weird fucking mutant with extra sharp elbows, it hurt.

“Shut up. You’re literally only an inch taller than me.” Patrick scoffed out in response, adding in a sassy little eye roll to emphasize his point. It had Tyler grinning in seconds, always taking pleasure in pestering his friend. “Oh! Did you hear about the new student?” He was rushing to ask afterwards.

It wasn’t all that like Patrick to get into gossip and such, so this surprised Tyler. That was one of the things the boys had in common. They’d sit, enduring Pete and Brendon’s endless lunchtime gossip and sharing exasperated looks with each new rumor. They were always more ridiculous than the last, but their friends just ate it up.

He groaned, flopping forward against the table and throwing his arm out across the top of it to cushion his cheek. His lower lip poked out in a small pout. He’d never looked more like a toddler than in that moment. …Except maybe when he was _actually_ a toddler.

“Not you too! Come on. It’s not that interesting. It’s literally just a random kid transferring schools. I woke up to like fifty texts from Brendon this morning cuz of this! Fifty, Pat. The gossip isn’t that interesting. The tea is cold!” He huffed. And god, he couldn’t believe he actually just used tea in that context. He needed to stop hanging out with Brendon so much.

Patrick, to his credit, did look a bit embarrassed over his part in the gossip. His cheeks flushed a light pink, lips pursing for a moment as if he was in deep thought.

“It’s— No, I didn’t mean— I’m not _gossiping_ , I’m not a gossiper. I was just trying to make conversation. And…you know, Pete has been showing him around, so he’s probably gonna sit with us.”

Tyler turned his head to bury his face into the crook of his own elbow, effectively shielding himself from the world. He hadn’t even thought about that. Of course the kid was gonna sit with them at lunch. That was kind of the whole purpose of school ambassadors, to be friendly and welcoming with the new kids.

Before Patrick got a chance to try to reassure him or tell him not to be a baby, it could be either one with him sometimes, there was a loud clatter just by Tyler’s head. He jumped, a little yelp of a sound falling from his lips before he could stop it.

“Worry not, peasants, your king has arrived!” Brendon exclaimed loudly, drawing a few glances from nearby tables. You’d think people would be used to Brendon’s mouth by now, but there was always at least a few dirty looks thrown their way when their table got too rowdy.

“Fuck you, Urinal, you scared me.” Tyler placed a hand over his heart and glared up at him. He couldn’t really be too mad, though, when he noticed the bag of Cheez-Its on Brendon’s tray, white cheddar, especially for him. In an instant, he’d snatched it away, a pleased hum leaving his lips.

“Wow, mood swing much? I slaved over a hot vending machine for you, Tyler, show a little gratitude.” Brendon sassed almost immediately, basically throwing himself down onto the bench. He couldn’t help but wince at his friend’s expense. These benches weren’t comfortable and he knew that had to hurt Brendon’s ass. Even just sitting there for a while caused his own to be sore.

“Where’s a marriage counselor when you need one?” Patrick joked before Tyler could retaliate. Which was perfectly fine with him because he was ready to tear into these Cheez-Its. He was starving after a breakfast of only one apple. It wasn’t even his favorite, fuji. It was red delicious and very contrary to its name in his opinion.

Brendon lurched across the table suddenly to yank the red bag from Tyler’s hands, lips curving upwards challengingly.

“You can have these when you say thank you! And, hmm…I want you to say ‘I’m so sorry, King Brendon, I’ll never disrespect you again.’”

“Ew, Bren, that sounds weirdly kin—.”

“I’m so sorry, King Brendon, that you were cursed with a forehead so large, yet a brain so small!” Tyler spoke up, interrupting whatever Patrick had been about to say as he himself leaned over the table to try to steal his snack back. The table dug uncomfortably into his stomach, but he was getting his Cheez-Its, damn it. One way or another.

Brendon was prepared for such a counterattack, quickly gripping the bag tighter as he grinned wickedly. He hardly seemed to notice the insult. Then again, insults were a good forty percent of their friendship, so he wasn’t surprised.

“Nuh uh, uh, Tyler. Not so fast. Say it or no Cheez-Its!”

“Brendon, I swear to—“

“Say it! Say it! Say it!”

Normally, Tyler would hold strong and just fight for his snack. But Brendon’s loud chanting was attracting unwanted attention from their peers, causing Tyler’s cheeks to flush lightly. He also noticed, from the corner of his eyes, that Patrick was shifting a bit uncomfortably at all the gazes, too.

“Ugh, fine! Just shut up. I’m so sorry, King Brendon, I’ll neeever disrespect you again. Thank you for the Cheez-Its, I’m oh so grateful to his royal highness!” Tyler caved. His voice was dripping with sarcasm, but Brendon accepted it, releasing his hold on the bag. This was unexpected and Tyler ended up pulling back too hard, sending the Cheez-Its flying to the ground behind him.

“Hey, y’fucking dick! Look what you did.” He huffed. Brendon’s attention was no longer on him, though, gaze focused on something just over Tyler’s shoulder.

“Guys! This is Joshua Dun, he’s new. I thought he could sit with us today. That’s cool, right?” Pete’s familiar voice sounded. Tyler, spun around on the bench to get a glimpse of the new kid, only to be greeted with a loud crunching sound as the stranger’s foot landed right on his bag of Cheez-Its.

He froze and so did the rest of his friends.

The first thought that ran through Tyler’s mind as he gazed at him was that he wasn’t what he’d been expecting. Brendon had made him out to be some huge rebel-y bad boy. He did have a sort of bad boy look, but it was much softer. His eyes were wide, deep pools of brown reflecting those first day jitters new kids so often got. His hair was, if he was being honest, a bit of a mess. It was dyed a bright red and looked as if the kid had walked through a wind storm or something to get there. Despite the messiness, though, it looked like it’d be kinda nice to run your fingers through. He had a small ring pierced through his nose and his clothing was pretty similar to Tyler’s. Maybe take away the lumberjack part of his aesthetic and replace it with bad boy. Yeah, it was definitely bad boy-emo chic. Over all, he was just…cute.

His second thought was that he’d never hated anyone as much as he hated Joshua Dun in that moment.

The table was completely silent for a long few moments before someone spoke up.

“Oh my fuckin’ god, he fuckin’ dead.” Brendon stage-whispered to no one in particular.

For his part, Josh just looked…very confused. Tyler watched as his eyes flicked down to the destroyed bag of Cheez-Its beneath his converse, pink lips forming a little ‘o’ as realization dawned on him. His own eyes narrowed and if looks could kill, Brendon would be right about something for once.

“Um, shit— I…Sorry, was that yours? I..I wasn’t looking…” Josh trailed off hesitantly. And if there was any doubt that he _wasn’t_ some bad boy extraordinaire before, it was certainly gone now. His stature in that moment was much more like a scared puppy than a scary punk.

Tyler took a slow breath in through his nose before slowly turning back to the table. Brendon’s eyes were on him, both eyebrows raised high up on that forehead of his. And he kind of looked like he was hoping for more drama. But Tyler wasn’t a complete jerk. It wasn’t like Josh _meant_ to ruin his entire life or anything.

 _Drama queen_ , he could hear Patrick saying if he were to voice his thoughts in that moment. He was right. Again, Brendon was rubbing off on him too much.

“Dude, no worries. Tyler is just a hangry Cheez-It fetishist. Sit!” Pete finally reassured. He gestured for Josh to take the seat across the table, next to Brendon, as he himself plopped into the spot beside Patrick.

“Hi! I’m Patrick. It’s really nice to meet you. I hope Pete hasn’t scared you off from us yet.” His smile was friendly, easy-going. It reminded Tyer of the first day he’d sat with them.

“Hah, um—. Nah. He’s a little weird, but nothing I can’t handle.” Josh replied, only slightly awkwardly. Pete was already opening his mouth to add on to that, but Tyler tuned out.

His attention was drawn by Brendon nudging his tray across the table, a silent offering for Tyler to take his pick. Despite his ‘hangry, Cheez-It fetishizing’ self, he managed a warm smile. For all the shit they gave each other, Brendon really was an amazing friend. He plucked a crinkled fry and popped it into his mouth, already feeling a bit better just from the taste.

“I’m Brendon, but you can call me sir, king, your majesty, whatever fits your fancy.” Brendon introduced. His voice wasn’t an easy one to tune out.

Tyler expected the guy to be a bit weirded out by Brendon’s antics, most people were at least at first, but Josh seemed to find him funny. A small laugh fell from his lips. It was like the sound of an angel’s wings fluttering, what the fuck. How could he stay mad at that?

“Oh! Okay. Breadbin it is, then.” Josh nodded, the smile on his face slowly growing less shy the more the table joked around with him.

Brendon beamed, lifting his chicken sandwich with both hands and taking a big bite. Lettuce hung from the corner of his mouth. Either Brendon didn’t notice or he didn’t care. Probably the second one. Not that it mattered anyway because he had an unfair power of always looking flawless no matter how gross or goofy he was being. 

“Breadbin, I like it. Opens up a lot of doors for me. I can ask people if they wanna taste inside of me, delicious!”

Tyler shook his head, deciding now was a good time to introduce himself formally. Anything to stop that conversation from continuing.

“Tyler. Sorry for the death glare before, I’m not me when I’m hungry!” His words were accompanied with an apologetic smile.

“Ah, I see! You should have had a Snickers.” And…wow. That was about the lamest joke he’d ever heard. The playful wink Josh added didn’t help either. Still, he found himself laughing as he bit into his next fry.

“Yikes, you need to work on your material, Joshua.”

“What? No way! I’m ready for the big leagues. You’re gonna see me at all the local comedy clubs before you know it.”

“Oh, yeah. All of the zero comedy clubs we have around here. I’m impressed.”

“Hey! Quit the banter, I have an important question.” Brendon cut in, interrupting the beginning of their playful bickering. All eyes turned to him. Even Pete and Pat turned to look curiously, letting themselves be drawn away from their own conversation.

“You better think carefully about this because it's gonna make or break your acceptance into our friend group.”

Josh looked a bit nervous as Brendon continued, Tyler’s eyebrows furrowing. What could he possibly ask that was that serious?

“What’s your opinion on the Bee Movie?”

Disbelieving laughter broke out at their table at the dumb, unexpected question. As Tyler peeked over at Josh, giggles still falling from his lips, he thought maybe having the guy in their group wouldn’t be so bad after all. At the very least, he could give him a chance. Yeah, he could live with giving him a chance. As long as the fucker didn't ruin any more of his snacks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re in band!?” Startled at the sudden exclamation, Tyler actually jumped a bit, blinking wide eyed at Brendon before his words processed. His jaw instantly dropped and he jolted forward to snatch the schedule out of his hands. In return, he got a heavy pout. Fuck patience and fuck virtues, his new, sweet friend could not be a band kid.
> 
> “Is that..bad? I thought Pete was in band.” Josh replied slowly, confusion dripping from his tongue with every word.
> 
> “Pete participating in something would contribute to the badness of it, I think. Thinking him being in band makes it good? Yeah, that logic is flawed.” Patrick cut in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I didn't mean for this update to take so long. But I suppose I am kind of slow with updates, I apologize!
> 
> Sometimes I think maybe I’m overdoing the Brendon characterization, but then I watch a video of him and…nope. He’s so Brendon. Also, all four of these guys together at once is so chaotic to write, I’m.
> 
> Enjoy~. This is a lot of filler/slice of life. A good 70% of this was written at 12 am and is completely unbeta'd, mistakes probably were made.

 Lunch went by relatively quickly once everyone had gotten used to Josh’s presence there. It was usually just the four of them, with the occasional Gerard, that sat together, so having a fifth person was a bit weird at first. Luckily for him, Josh seemed to fit right in. He didn’t find their humor weird the way others often did and, in fact, even joined in on the many jokes the whole table kept up throughout the period. It was actually…nice. And Tyler felt silly for ever believing that the guy was going to steal his friends away.

When the bell signaled the end of lunch, Tyler grabbed everyone’s trays for them and stood to dump them in the trash like always. He was just a good friend like that.

…Plus it always took his friends forever to gather their things up and get ready to leave, he’d learned long ago that throwing their trays away for them helped to move them along quicker. He was totally one of those nerds that liked to rush to class as soon as the bell rang.

“No, I swear, he literally dropped down to the floor in front of the whole class and started to do push ups!” Brendon was saying when he shuffled back over. Immediately, he knew he was talking about Mr. Halliwell and let out a small laugh, nodding his head in confirmation.

“It’s true. It was actually kind of impressive with how many he was able to do! He had to keep stopping when his glasses fell off, though.” Tyler piped up, throwing his bag over his shoulders and adjusting the straps to sit comfortably against his chest.

Josh shook his head in bewilderment, eyes scrunching up until just a small sliver of dark brown and white was showing as he grinned widely.

“No way! I should have signed up for choir, ugh.” He chuckled.

Pete shrugged and finally stood up from the table to put his own backpack on, nudging his shoulder against an already-standing Patrick. His aesthetic for the day seemed to be extra punk rock-y, Tyler noted just then, when he saw all the new buttons and sew-on patches he must have just added to his bag. Most were band-related, but Tyler easily caught sight of a Slytherin button amid the colorful chaos. Add punk ass nerd to the list of aesthetics his friend group was gaining.

“Doesn’t beat the time we learned how to play All Star in band, though.” Pete commented casually.

Turning on his heel, Tyler leveled his friend with a squinted stare, lips pursing out just slightly. See, there was a bit of a rivalry between the choir and the band. He wasn’t actually sure how it had started, but it’d been that way for as long as he could remember. It was always present throughout the school year, but there was a time, just as winter transitioned to spring, when it really blew up. The sacred Penny Wars. It was coming up and that lead to Tyler being just slightly more defensive of choir than usual. It was all in good fun, though. Mostly.

“Yeah, well, we sang it a few times in class. Mr. Halliwell is down with the memes.” He retorted. Pete may have been a part of choir, too, but his allegiance was very much with the band!

For the first time since Tyler returned, Patrick voiced his thoughts, an amused laugh leaving him just before.

“Oh my god…Down with the memes? That’s a band name right there. Just like Down With the Sickness, but better. The first single will be about Pepe and his old friend, darkness.”

“Patrick, my friend, you are a genius! You and I, we’re doing this thing. Right now. Let’s forget these losers, we’re going to be famous!” Brendon enthused, rushing around the table to throw an arm around Patrick’s shoulders. He just about knocked the smaller teen over when he leaned his weight against him, but it effectively ended the bickering that had been about to break out over band and choir. Pete rushed over to playfully shove Brendon’s arm off of their friend, but Tyler didn’t really hear whatever they were saying as they all started towards the cafeteria exit. He was already preoccupied with Josh, who’d appeared at his side as soon as Pete rushed away.

“Hey, um…I—. Here.” The boy stumbled over his words for a moment before he was holding out a small bag. He recognized the packaging immediately as he slowly took it from Josh’s outstretched hand. “I felt bad. About earlier, I mean. I know that’s lame because it was just a snack and all, but yeah. I went and grabbed it while you threw our trays away.” Josh shrugged sheepishly.

Josh bought him Cheez-Its. Immediately, he felt his heart squeeze in his chest. The gesture was just so sweet and unexpected. He wasn’t even that put off that they were the original flavor, not his beloved white cheddar. The fact that he’d only met the guy that day only made it sweeter.

“Oh, wow. Josh, you didn’t—. Crap, I feel bad now. You didn’t have to. A dumb snack isn’t a big deal. Plus, Brendon bought them anyway, it was his loss.” Tyler laughed out quietly. That was awkward. He totally sounded awkward saying that. Why couldn’t he interact with people like a normal human being? “Thank you, though! Really. My stomach thanks you, too. I mean…I’m gonna shut up.”

To his surprise, he found Josh grinning when he glanced up at the man again. Rather than annoyed, he just looked amused at Tyler’s awkwardness.

 “No biggie, yeah? Anyways, we should probably get going. I can barely see Patrick’s m’lady fedora through the crowd now.”

His words drew another laugh from Tyler, luckily less awkward this time, as he nodded in agreement.

“That’s when you know we’ve really fallen behind. Yeah, c’mon.” He hummed. The shorter boy started off after their friends, expecting Josh to follow as he stuffed the snack bag into the side pocket of his book bag. They caught up before long and Brendon immediately threw an arm over Tyler’s shoulders, mirroring Patrick and Pete beside them. Josh walked just a bit in front of the group so they weren’t blocking off the whole hallway like a bunch of assholes.

As they walked, Tyler nestled himself more firmly against Brendon’s side. He swore the guy was like an actual human heater, no person should be as warm as he was.

It wasn’t that unusual to see the two being physically affectionate with each other. Cuddles were a common thing between the two. Tyler tended to be a bit touch-starved, but his family wasn’t exactly known for being the hugging type, so he was always awkward about initiating it. Thankfully, Brendon was all too eager to cling onto him anytime he was in arms’ reach and over the years, Ty had become more comfortable with it all.

“Our dearest Joshua, you haven’t shared your schedule with us yet! Where are you headed? We can help you find your way.” Brendon offered, his tone devoid of any sort of snark or mischief for once.

“The classrooms are literally numbered, Brendon.” Pete cut in, Patrick nodding beside him.

Tyler wriggled his way out from beneath the baritone’s arm (the hallways were already kind of stuffy, being that close to him as starting to make him sweat) and began to walk backwards in front of him, rolling his eyes. He gave him a knowing look, the corner of his lips twitching up into a small smirk.

“And there’s directions on all the walls. You’re just being nosy.” Tyler accused. Brendon, of course, immediately feigned offense and gasped loudly.

“How _dare_ you, Tyler Joseph! I did _not_ raise you this way.”

“Up your ass, dadd—.”

“Here.” Tyler was cut off before he could finish sassing his friend by Josh holding out a piece of paper to Brendon. He eagerly snatched it, the perfect picture of a child in a candy shop. And Tyler couldn’t help it, he felt a tug of curiosity in his own gut. He told himself it was mostly just because he wanted to know if they had any classes together, though. Obviously.

Patience was a virtue, the tenor reminded himself as he waited for Brendon to finish scanning over the paper. He could wait a few seconds to take a peek himself.

“You’re in _band_!?” Startled at the sudden exclamation, Tyler actually jumped a bit, blinking wide eyed at Brendon before his words processed. His jaw instantly dropped and he jolted forward to snatch the schedule out of his hands. In return, he got a heavy pout. Fuck patience and fuck virtues, his new, sweet friend could _not_ be a band kid.

“Is that..bad? I thought Pete was in band.” Josh replied slowly, confusion dripping from his tongue with every word.

“Pete participating in something would contribute to the badness of it, I think. Thinking him being in band makes it good? Yeah, that logic is flawed.” Patrick cut in.

Tyler bumped into someone rushing by in the opposite direction, but was mostly unfazed. It was nearly impossible to walk through a high school hallway between periods without getting at least nudged. Plus, he was too preoccupied with the words glaring up at him from that damn piece of paper. Josh was in band. Disgusting. Absolutely despicable. Could he even bear to eat Cheez-Its from the enemy?

“Shut up, hobbit. I am, but I’m in choir, too. Uh…you’re gonna figure out real fast that choir and band kind of have a…competitive relationship.” Came Pete’s sympathetic reply. He’d been on the receiving end of plenty of declarations of “Traitor!” from both Tyler and Brendon.

“You’re dead to me!” Tyler declared abruptly, handing the paper back to Josh with a little dramatic flair. “Josh Dun? More like Josh _done_ with you.”

Snorting in amusement at the word play, Josh rolled his eyes. “Wow, I’ve never heard that one before.” He was the actual personification of sarcasm in that moment before his gaze was flicking back to Pete and a silent Patrick. Tyler figured he was engrossed in some game on his phone judging by the intense stare and the tiny crinkle of his nose. He only did that when he was really focused. “Oh. They should warn you that you’re possibly signing up for a war when you’re picking your classes.”

The group was nearing Tyler’s classroom. He had pre-calculus this period and was the closest one to the lunchroom. Pete was a few doors down while Patrick would have to take a right a little further down the hall. Poor Brendon was all the way upstairs, but he never seemed in a rush to get to class.

“Hmm, too late. You’ve picked your side.” Patrick finally spoke up again, his words coming out slower than usual as he was still distracted by his game. Pete noticed this and snatched the phone away, shoving it in his back pocket. “Pete! Give it back, fucker.”

“I guess I’m kicked out of the group then?”

“Take it back! My ass doesn’t bite.”

Josh and Pete spoke at the same time, making it hard to work out what they’d each just said.

“No, you’ll be a useful spy against band.”

“Hey, there’s a movie where a girl has teeth in her vagina.”

Fuck, now Tyler and Brendon were talking in unison. And…wait what?

“Brendon, what the fuck? That’s terrifying. Of course you’d watch that.” Brendon was king of weird horror movies. He’d once forced Tyler into watching a movie about a killer tire. That’s right. A fucking car tire that murdered people.

He received a simple shrug in reply as they reached his class. Tyler sighed exasperatedly and shook his head in amusement.

“Okay then. Well, on that note, this is my stop. I’ll see the cool guys in choir later.”

“Bye, Ty.”

“Peace out, T-Jo.”

“You’ll see me in _hell_.”

Tyler rolled his eyes. He watched as his friends continued down the hallway, but Josh once again hung back. Probably to enjoy a little bit of quiet before he had to return to Peterick’s bickering slash flirting and Brendon’s weird, often sexual, comments.

“Sooo…a spy, huh? Do I need, like, a cool spy name to infiltrate the band headquarters?” Josh asked with mock seriousness, grinning brightly down at him. Tyler noticed his hair was sticking up more than it had been at the start of lunch. He looked like a bird with ruffled feathers, honestly, and he had an urge to smooth it down for him. But Tyler wasn’t that weird, he wasn’t going to touch a guy he’d just met without permission. Instead, he forced his gaze away from the red locks to lock onto dark eyes. They reminded him of black coffee. Only Josh was far from bitter and gross.

Nodding, he played along with their little joke and scrunched his nose up as if in deep thought. He didn’t even mind that the classroom behind him was getting louder, a telltale sign that the bell was about to ring and the last minute hooligans (as Tyler so affectionately called them) were filtering in before him.

“Oh yeah, definitely. If they find you out and you don’t have a secret name, they might just end up at your house with some tubas and a trumpet at midnight some day. Hmm.” He tapped his finger lightly against his chin, hoping his lunch grease wouldn’t make him break out there. “So it has to be as far away from your real name as possible. Let’s see…”

Josh just waited patiently, stuffing his hands into ripped white jeans. His jeans looked to have been ripped purposely, unlike Tyler’s.

“I got it!” He exclaimed suddenly, snapping his fingers and standing up just a bit straighter. When you had bad posture like him, that always meant serious business. “Your spy name is officially and forever…Jishwa.”

Immediately, they both dissolved into what can only be described as fits of giggles. Full on high-pitched, shameless giggles.

“Jishwa? You’re right, no one will suspect a thing. We’ve totally—.”

Whatever Josh was about to say was cut off by the warning bell. That meant Josh had approximately…one minute to get to his class before he was marked as late. Regretfully, Tyler took a step back towards his class. Weirdly enough, he didn’t want to say goodbye, but he wasn’t going to be late. And he didn’t want to be the reasons Josh was late.

“Shit, you should probably go if you’re gonna make it to your class. Uh, I’ll..see you around?” Tyler said. He didn’t give Josh a chance to reply before spinning on his heel and hurrying into his class.

There was something incredibly anxiety-inducing about walking into a classroom full of teenagers. This was why he liked to be early. But he supposed it was worth it for the short conversation he got to have with a new friend.

He ducked by his teacher sheepishly, feeling a bit guilty despite not technically being late to class. In fact, he was in his seat, in the very back corner of the classroom, by the time the late bell rang. He tugged his math notebook out of his bag, smiling to himself at the sight of the Cheez-Its as he plopped the book onto his desk. With a quick click of his favorite mechanical pencil, Tyler was ready for some calculating. And if he snuck a nibble of his favorite cheesy snack every once in a while throughout the class, his teacher was none-the-wiser.

* * *

 

Choir class. The very thing he’d been looking forward to all day. Tyler was beaming as he shuffled into the music hallway, hopping down the short set of stairs to the doorway of his musical paradise. Dodie was already there, as always, a stack of papers for the day held firmly in her petite hands. She was a tiny thing, shorter than Tyler and on the scrawnier side. Thinking of the stereotype of a shy, quiet girl, Dodie was the picture perfect match. Her dark hair and eyes, along with a lovely smattering of freckles over the pale bridge of her nose only added to that meek look. Which was why it was so surprising to hear her sing for the first time. He could still clearly recall his first rehearsal with the choir, hearing her over all the other sopranos as they belted out the first line of _Let Their Celestial Concerts._ It was insane. Almost as insane as all the fucking melismas Handel decided was necessary in that song.

Anyway, she was probably one of Mr. Halliwell’s favorite students thanks to her dedication to the choir and always going above and beyond to help them out. She was the one that kept their robe closet organized along with the choir binders full of sheet music and the special pins each student got for their years in choir. So naturally, he was always entrusting her with certain tasks. For example, being the one to hand out new papers at the door.

“Hey, Dodie. I like your new glasses!” Tyler enthused as he plucked the paper from her hands, eyes scanning it over quickly. He groaned internally. A new sight-reading exercise. He actually kind of enjoyed doing them, but it got to be pretty annoying when his section just goofed off the whole time. The only other tenor that actually contributed was Patrick. Brendon didn’t count because he kind of switched between the tenor and bass section depending on the song. In the sight reading exercises, he sang bass with Pete.

The girl’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink, mouth instantly growing into a wide grin. They weren’t quite friends per se, but they were friendly and both equally as passionate about choir.

“Thanks! Very Harry Potter-esque, right?” With a little giggle, she straightened the round glasses on the bridge of her nose.

Tyler nodded and soon had a matching grin on his face.

“Definitely! Wait until we have to wear our robes for the concert. You could be an extra on the set of one of the movies.” He teased, shuffling by her and into the choir room. She smacked him lightly on the shoulder with the stack of papers as he passed, but said nothing.

The choir room was a pretty nice size, large enough to have three whole separate doors. The one he’d just come through led to the hallway, there was one directly to his left that opened to  small storage closet that linked their room to the band room, and the last door was on the far side of the room. That was to a similarly sized room as the storage closet, but they used it as an extra practice room for when they all split into sections. Being the smallest section, Tyler usually got stuck in the small space with all the other tenors. That room also connected to the band room, but they had so many instruments blocking it that they never used it, so it was largely considered choir territory. He snorted at the thought. They sounded like rival gangs. Maybe they could get cool leather jackets with big music notes on the back?

He shook himself from his thoughts and made his way to his seat, pulling his choir binder out as soon as he was seated. He was one of the few people that actually took theirs home. It was useful for practicing. Plus, he didn’t trust it in the classroom after his had gone missing in his sophomore year. Seriously, who stole a binder full of sheet music and worksheets?

“Afternoon, Tyler! How was your weekend?”

Tyler’s head snapped up at the sound of his teacher’s voice, an easy smile forming. Mr. Halliwell really was one of a kind when it came to teachers. He loved most of his instructors, but Mr. Halliwell went above and beyond. He kind of felt like a weird, distant uncle. A good one, though.

“Hi, Mr. Halliwell. It was pretty okay. I mostly just chilled. Oh, but I did finally watch that video you told us about! Where they, like, filmed inside someone’s throat or something while they sang? It was gross.” He laughed. His teacher could only nod in agreement, he knew damn well it was gross.

“I know, but now you understand why vowel shapes are so important with singing, right?” He shrugged, taking a seat at his desk and beginning to rummage through the mess of papers and folders. The guy was kind of a mess when it came to organization. It showed in the lack of order to his important papers and Tyler could tell you from personal experience that it extended past school. He’d been in his car before and it was like a fucking episode of Hoarders in there. Accepting a ride home had never felt more wrong than when he’d had to step on his things to get into his car.

“Mhm. I’ve been doing more warm ups that focus on that.” Tyler agreed. Their conversation probably would have continued that way, chatting back and forth casually about singing stuff, but a commotion from the hallway caught Tyler’s attention.

“Fuck, get back here you little—!”

“Ahaha, you’ll never catch me!”

“You guys are going to trip or run into something—.”

Ah. Tyler knew those voices. Very well. And it didn’t take a genius to connect their loud mouths to the sound of sneakers pounding against linoleum floors. In seconds, Pete was bursting into the classroom, startling poor Dodie.

“Nooo, I don’t wanna be a rotten egg!” Brendon practically wailed as he came stumbling in right behind him. Tyler snickered under his breath. It was never a dull moment with these guys.

“Too bad, go suck yourself, egg.” Pete exclaimed proudly, only to immediately receive a warning look from Mr. Halliwell. He may have been a laidback teacher, but that didn’t mean he let them do or say anything.

“Tyler!” Brendon gasped, rushing over to him and falling dramatically to his knees in front of his chair. Without Brendon’s tall ass in the way, Tyler could now see Patrick giving Dodie an apologetic smile and grabbing three papers from her.

His attention reluctantly turned to Brendon, a tiny huff leaving him as his friend laid his head in his lap.

“What do you want, you dingus?”

“Pete called me an egg. I don’t want to be an egg, much less a rotten one. You think I’m something better, yeah? Like…I don’t know, at least slightly spoiled milk.” With a tilt of his head, Tyler was suddenly facing Brendon’s wide puppy eyes, his lower lip poked out in a firm pout. He had to admit, it was very cute. And effective, as it had him reaching a hand down to pat his head gently.

“Yes, Brendon. You’re at least slightly spoiled milk.”

“Thank you.”

The bell rang and Tyler’s gaze flickered to the hallway, just in time to catch Josh hauling ass past their door. Their eyes happened to meet and he offered a tiny smile, even though in his mind he was totally judging him. Late on the first day, tsk tsk.

“Are you fraternizing with the enemy right now? Right in front of my salad? With my _head_ in your _lap_?”

Tyler watched Josh continue past their door, presumably to the band room next door, before he was gently nudging Brendon’s head off of him.

“There, problem solved, your head is no longer on my lap.”

“Good afternoon, class! I hope you guys are ready, we have a lot of stuff to get through today.” Mr. Halliwell announced, moving over with long strides to close the door. There was an annoying kid that liked to wander the halls between periods and he often poked his head into their class and disrupted it, so they’d gotten into the habit of keeping it closed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brendon slinking into his seat behind him, letting Patrick finally take his usual seat beside Tyler.

“You’re lucky you don’t have to walk to class with them.” Patrick whispered to him with a fond smile.

“You’ve never walked home with them. Imagine how much worse they are with that much time.” Tyler countered, shifting to pull his binder onto his lap, the sight reading paper on top. He had an hour of musical bliss ahead of him.

* * *

 

After choir had ended, Tyler and Brendon said their goodbyes to their friends and headed out to start the walk home. They always walked home together, it’d become a daily tradition for them. The few times that Brendon had been out sick since they started doing it, the walk home had just felt…wrong.

The first half of their twenty minute walk was spent just goofing off, sharing small talk about their day while pushing each other around on the path or trying to see who could kick a rock the farthest. They were crossing a road when the conversation took a turn.

“Oh, sweet, dude. Pete added Josh to our group chat.” Brendon said, pulling his foot back and kicking a pebble onto the sidewalk they were headed towards.

“Yeah? Cool.” Tyler shrugged his bag up higher onto himself, annoyed with how its weight added to the heat from the sun and caused his shirt to stick to his back with sweat. It was the worst part about walking home in the warmer months. Winter still won when it came to shitty walking conditions, though. He couldn’t tell you how many times he’d slipped and fell on his ass in the middle of the street during winter.

“Hm. Hey, uh, what do you think about him anyway?” Something felt off about Brendon’s tone as he asked. This drew Tyler’s focus, a small frown tugging at his lips as he peeked over at him. He didn’t look any different than normal, nothing on his face giving away that he was upset or anything. Maybe Tyler had just imagined his tone?

Blowing out a slow breath from his lips, he tilted his head back to stare at the clouds, admiring the contrast of pure white against the background of blue sky. He honestly wasn’t all that sure. Don’t get him wrong, Josh was super nice and talking to him made Tyler smile. He thought they were clicking in the same way that he had with the rest of his friend group. But he wasn’t exactly the type of person to trust quickly. And he thought maybe Josh was just being so kind because he had to. After all, Pete was his assigned ambassador. It’d look kind of douche-y if he acted like he didn’t like his friends.

“He’s—. Yeah, he’s cool. Not exactly the badass you were hoping for, but he’s funny, right? I would have expected him to find us all weird and leave hallway through lunch.” Tyler spoke honestly and took a sidestep closer to Brendon, hoping he’d get the hint that he was feeling affectionate.

He was his best friend, of course he did. Brendon instantly wrapped his arm around Tyler’s shoulders and, unlike in the hallway earlier, he didn’t pull away once it felt too warm.

“Yeah! He’s cool. And funny.” Brendon agreed simply.

The subject dropped, the two walked just like that until they reached Tyler’s house. It was Brendon who pulled away first now, dropping his arm away and ruffling his hair a bit roughly. As if it wasn’t already messy enough.

“See you later, Ty-Guy! I’ll text you.” He sing-songed, beaming as he paused on the sidewalk.

Tyler aimed a playful punch to his gut, but Brendon stepped away fast enough to avoid it. He made a mental note to mess his hair up at some point in school tomorrow instead of revenge now, taking careful steps back as shot finger guns at him. Oh yeah, Tyler was a real cool guy.

“Peace out, B-Dog, be— _Shit_!” He yelped as his foot unexpectedly hit the steps of his porch stumbling backwards with flailing arms. He didn’t necessarily _fall_ , it was more like he sat down really hard without meaning to.

Loud barks of laughter were filling the air in no time and he couldn’t help but join in, cracking up from his spot on his porch. He had to admit, it was pretty fucking funny. He only wished he could have seen his face.

“Tyler Joseph, you are the lamest guy I know. I fucking love you. Go inside and try not to face plant on your way in!”

Still giggling, Tyler nodded and pushed himself onto shaky legs. His muscles always went all weak when he laughed really hard, it was truly a curse.

“Bye, Brendon.” With a short wave, he walked into his house (well, more like townhouse, it was connected to another one) facing the right direction this time to avoid any more accidental spills. As he turned to close the door, he saw Brendon starting off further down the street to his own house. He watched for a moment, the smile on his lips fond, before he slowly shut the door. It clicked softly, the quiet sound seeming extra loud in his quiet house. After locking up, he made his way into his kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

Even after just a few moments of his house’s suffocating silence, Tyler’s mood was dropping. The loud laughter shared with Brendon just minutes ago felt like hours away. It wasn’t like he had a problem with being home alone, he had a problem with being home alone _all the time_. He wanted to know what it was like to come home to a mom who asked about his day or made him an after school snack or even just pestered him about his homework. But he knew by now that would never happen. Work always came first. Tyler came second to everyone, even his own mother.

He picked at the label of the bottle as he turned and headed upstairs, the bag on his back now feeling heavier than before. Once he reached his room, he shut the door and threw his bag into the corner. In seconds, he had Netflix queued up on the TV, playing some random movie he didn’t know or care about. It was just to fill the silence. Tyler hated silence. Maybe that explained his biggest loves in life, his friends and music. The thought of them helped to pull him out of his teenage angst some at least.

As he settled onto his bed, he tugged his phone from his back pocket and unlocked it to find the group chat quite active with their new member.

 **_emo2extremo_ ** _: so how great of an ambassador was I today?_

 **_hatrick:_ ** _you didn’t even try to show him to his last two classes_

**_Josh Dun changed their name to jishwa._ **

**_jishwa:_ ** _ok, that’s a good point, i ended up late to band because i got lost_

 **_breadbin:_ ** _WE DON’T SPEAK THAT WORD HERE._

 **_breadbin:_ ** _THAT AND THE C-WORD ARE FORBIDDEN_

 **_breadbin:_ ** _NOT CUNT, BUT CHO*R_

 **_breadbin:_ ** _THIS IS A PLACE OF PEACE._

 **_jishwa:_ ** _OK I’M SORRY_

 **_jishwa:_ ** _i ended up late to b*nd because i got lost_

 **_emo2extremo_ ** _: well listen, nobody’s perfect_

 **_emo2extremo_ ** _: take a lesson from hannah montana dickweed_

 **_hatrick:_ ** _i was more of a suite life of zack and cody kid myself_

 **_breadbin:_ ** _bitch, that’s so raven was my SHIT_

Tyler felt a smile slowly growing on his face and a happy warmth in his chest as he read over their conversation. At least he had his friends. He was confident that they’d never abandon him. He’d never be truly alone so long as he had them. He didn’t need to freak out and fall into the dark pit in his mind every time he got home simply because his mommy wasn’t there to coddle him. He was okay.

Leaning back against his pillows, Tyler typed away at his phone to chime in with his two-cents, feeling extremely grateful for his friends.

 **_tylernoseph:_ ** _um, you’re all insane, clearly drake and josh was the best 2000’s kids show_

_**4 people are typing…** _

Yeah, Tyler was definitely okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this was way more rambley and dialogue heavy than the last chapter, but pfft. Not gonna analyze my own writing, okay. Publicly at least.
> 
> The next chapter is probably going to have a little bit of a time skip and maybe some conflict soon? (I promise this story as planned out, haha.)


End file.
